WVU President Michael T. Benson spoke at the start of the Board of Governors meeting on Friday, Sept. 11, at the Erickson Alumni Center. (WVU Photo/Brian Persinger)
“We were forever changed in September 2001.”
West Virginia University President Michael T. Benson, professor in the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Department of History, opened the Board of Governors meeting on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by reflecting on Patriot Day — the National Day of Service and Remembrance — following a moment of silence called for by Board Chair Robert “Rusty” Hutson Jr.
Though most current University students have no firsthand memories of the attacks, “We are living today with the consequences of what transpired 25 years ago,” Benson said.
Shifting from the past to the future, President Benson announced the launch of WVU Express, a direct admissions pilot program for qualifying high school seniors in Monongalia County and Kanawha County which was created to remove barriers to higher education for Mountain State students.
“As West Virginia’s flagship, land-grant, R1 University, WVU is committed to creating more pathways for students across the state to pursue their goals, discover their potential, and find their place as Mountaineers,” Benson said.
Demonstrating confidence in President Benson, his leadership team, and the positive direction established for the University, the Board unanimously approved a two-year extension of President Benson’s employment agreement through June 30, 2032.
“The progress of the past year is a foundation, not a finish line,” Chair Hutson said of President Benson’s highly successful first year. “Our aspirations for academic excellence, research growth, financial strength, and national reputation will require sustained effort. That is why leadership stability matters.”
The affirmation comes ahead of President Benson’s annual State of the University address to the Faculty Assembly at 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, at the College of Law, and his inauguration at 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Canady Creative Arts Center.
Delivering her report, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Beverly Wendland — a key member of President Benson’s leadership team — talked about her first 70 days at WVU.
“The land-grant mission here is not simply language in a strategic document. It is embedded in how people think about their work. It is part of their everyday lives,” Wendland said.
“We have the talent. We have the mission. We have extraordinary strengths to build on. And we have an opportunity to be ambitious about what this University can become.”
Speaking directly to large-scale, long-term goals for the University, Dr. Hannah Hazard-Jenkins, executive chair and director of the WVU Cancer Institute, detailed ongoing steps toward and potential benefits from the pursuit of National Cancer Institution designation.
“Where you live should not determine your cancer outcome,” Dr. Hazard-Jenkins said, noting that West Virginia is one of only six eastern U.S. states without an NCI Designated Cancer Center.
“Achieving this designation will allow us to better serve our communities, enhance our evidence-based research, expand access to life-changing clinical trials, increase education and outreach programs, retain and recruit pioneering physician-scientists, researchers, and other experts, investment in technology and facilities, and improve access to cancer care.”
To support healthcare education, several major investments were approved during the Board meeting, including the proposed 5,600-square-foot expansion of the David and Jo Ann Shaw Simulation Training and Education for Patient Safety STEPS Center to support interprofessional healthcare training for students and clinicians across WVU Health Sciences and WVU Medicine.
The expansion encompasses immersive simulation rooms, clinical skills labs, exam rooms, and collaborative learning space, allowing for a projected more than 20% increase in training sessions each year to improve the University’s educational infrastructure, strengthen the state’s healthcare workforce pipeline, and help improve patient care across the region.
Also approved by the Board was the project budget for design phases for a planned new standalone Health Sciences Center Education Building. The site will be designed to support continued growth of Health Sciences education by providing modern instructional environments, collaborative student spaces, simulation space, and flexible academic space to meet current and future program needs.
Additionally, the Board signed off on the next phase of WVU School of Dentistry renovations with the planned modernization of clinic space for Endodontics, Periodontics, Prosthodontics, Oral Surgery, General Practice Residency, resident rooms, a new reception area, and more. Phase One was completed earlier this year.
A separate $5 million state grant will also support main clinic improvements.
The Board also:
• Approved construction plans for the $156 million Milan Puskar Stadium West Tower Project, as presented by Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker. Initial demolition work is scheduled to begin in December. Baker also provided updates on apron and seating improvement plans at Hope Coliseum.
• Authorized the hiring of a consultant to develop a comprehensive Campus Master Plan that will serve as a roadmap for campus development in the coming years, aligning the University’s physical development with the Strategic Compass while providing a framework for future capital investment, space planning, and growth in Morgantown, and at WVU Institute of Technology and WVU Potomac State College.
• Renamed the building that houses the WVU Early Learning Institute Sycamore Place following a site transition at the start of the 2026-27 to a full-day early education model. This replaces the previous WVU Nursery School building name.
• Toured experiential class sites and labs prior to the meeting for the WVU Eberly College Department of Forensic and Investigative Science.
• Heard about the brand expansion taking flight in airlines and airports. This includes the PIT Spectacular, the high-impact University brand advertisement that started running on the “Spectacular” screen Sept. 1, welcoming travelers to the Pittsburgh International Airport during peak recruitment and travel season.
Also detailed were the WVU x American Airlines and WVU x JetBlue campaigns, which feature the new national spot for travelers connecting to Wi-Fi on American Airlines and JetBlue flights in key markets through Oct. 10. Two months in, the campaign has resulted in over 300,000 visits to the University’s website with visitors staying an average of one minute.
View the Sept. 11 Board of Governors regular meeting agenda and meeting materials.
The next regular BOG meeting is scheduled for Nov. 13.
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